Västra Gällsjön

humic brown forest lake · 60°N

Real lakereal shoreline7 species on recordsizes from survey fishingsources & method →

clarity 0.9 mmax depth 8 mpH 5.6oligotrophic · humicstatus unsatisfactorypaved road

Character of the water

Västra Gällsjön lies in central Sweden — a humic brown forest lake. The tea-stained, humic water hides the bottom within an arm's length.

The surroundings

The lake sits close to town with a road right up to it — easy to reach, but hard-fished and exposed to nutrient runoff from the buildings and fields all around.

Moderately deep (8 m) — shallow bays, the odd reef and a deeper channel through the middle.

Permits & rules

Fishing permit required — Västra Gällsjön FVOF. Day permit ~100 kr · annual permit ~500 kr.

Pike: keep at most one over 75 cm per day.
Handheld tackle only. Respect the protected zones at the inlets and outlets.

Species in Västra Gällsjön

perch predatory fish

typically ~15 cm · can reach 30 cm

Perch grazes the rich water in schools — where there's one, there are more.

ål fish

typically ~55 cm · can reach 110 cm

Ål works the bottom in the dark — smell and feel come before everything else.

elritsa fish

typically ~7 cm · can reach 12 cm

The nutrient-rich water keeps elritsa moving constantly between the feeding grounds.

pike predatory fish

typically ~55 cm · can reach 58 cm

In the murky light, pike shadows the baitfish and hits in short rushes.

ruffe perch family

typically ~11 cm · can reach 16 cm

Down on the bottom ruffe sifts the soft ground — patience beats speed here.

burbot bottom fish

typically ~30 cm · can reach 30 cm

Burbot works the bottom in the dark — smell and feel come before everything else.

roach coarse fish

typically ~15 cm · can reach 23 cm

Roach grazes the rich water in schools — where there's one, there are more.

Fishing Västra Gällsjön

The species list of Västra Gällsjön runs to 7. The predators — perch, pike and burbot — hunt where the baitfish gather, and on a water this size you soon learn where it holds its fish.

Every session at Västra Gällsjön is fished in whatever conditions hold right then — the same pressure, wind and light as over the real water. What bites today isn't what bit the day before, and those who return learn the water for real.

General rules of thumb for this kind of water

Brown, humic water dampens the light — fishing can be good even in the middle of the day.

The catch board

6 anglers · 12 catches

1Stefan Ekål46 cm
2Per Schmidtpike44 cm
3Jürgen Åströmpike41 cm
4Per Sundinburbot24 cm
5Emil Nyströmperch12 cm
6Nils Erikssonruffe8 cm

Species records here

ål46 cmStefan Ek

pike44 cmPer Schmidt

burbot24 cmPer Sundin

perch12 cmEmil Nyström

ruffe8 cmNils Eriksson

The same water, for real

This water's real catch reports — and the logbook for your own.Fångstrapport.sein Swedish

The real bite table for this water — for your next real session.Huggtabell.sein Swedish